The policy of inclusion is still suffers attacks based on prejudice from conservatives

Social Inclusion

The inequality wall begins to crumble: income of the poorest grows more than the richest

With Lula and Dilma Brazil grew with income distribution, is out of the FAO World Hunger Map and promoted inclusion and upward mobility for millions of Brazilians. As never before in history.

There is something that unites three distinct moments of domestic politics in the last decades of the 20th century — the boom years of economic growth during the military regime; the years of stagnation after re-democratization, and the period of neoliberalism and privatization. Income inequality and the lack of opportunities for social mobility were never confronted. They never were on the agenda of priorities. That began to change after 2003.

With the global crisis of 2008, many countries, including developed nations, saw their inequality rates rise. In Brazil, not even the most severe crisis since 1929 was able to curb the extraordinary reduction of inome inequality initiated by Lula and expanded by Dilma.

A consistent policy of income transfer, coupled with significant increases in the minimum wage, stimulus of domestic consumption with expanded and cheaper credit, increased access to housing, health and education, created a reality that had long been considered impossible by many governments: a combination of economic growth, monetary stability and reduction of the extreme social inequality that has marked the history of Brazil since colonial times.

Who doesn’t remember a time when the government avoided adjusting the minimum wage for inflation, arguing that it would threaten economic stability?

Until recently, poverty and social exclusion seemed like natural phenomena, far removed from a situation that could be transformed by political decisions and government programs. After decades of growth without distribution or blind faith in the ability of free markets to provide income balance among Brazilians, the results of the decisive role of the state in conducting inclusive economic and social policies are there for all to see. With Lula and Dilma, 36 million Brazilians have emerged from extreme poverty, and thanks to Bolsa Família. 42 million rose to the “class C” (i.e., lower middle class).

The incomes of the poorest 10% are growing almost 3 times faster than the richest 10%Gogole+Facebook

If it is true that all segments of society had earned income in recent years, for the first time in decades the poorest wound up winning in comparison: between 2003 and 2012, the poorest 10% had cumulative growth of real per capita income of 107%, while the richest saw a 37% increase in accumulated income, according to a study from the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA). The real gains were almost three times higher for Brazilians who were more socially vulnerable. The wall of inequality, which seemed insurmountable, began to be overcome.

The policy of inclusion is still suffers attacks based on prejudice from conservativesGogole+Facebook

In the beginning, they said Bolsa Família would encourage indolence and idleness. They were wrong: the program fueled the market, and today 75% of the beneficiaries are working adults in the labor market and 1.3 million are getting training through Pronatec (the National Program for Access to Technical Education and Employment), to have a better chance to participate in the working world. Then, opponents began to repeat that easy access to credit would lead the population into debt, as if the people did not know what to do with their money. They got it completely wrong: surveys repeatedly show that the low-income population is increasingly knowledgeable about how to control their spending habits.

Then, they said the guarantee of new labor rights would cause mass unemployment anong domestic servants. Nothing like that happened. It was just blackmail by those who perceived poor women as cheap and easy sources of labor. To put into practice their social inclusion policies, Lula and Dilma had to face prejudice and resistance on the part of society that always had access to all goods and services in Brazil and tried to maintain the huge gap that has always existed between rich and poor. The difference is the vast majority of Brazilians will no longer agree to backslide on this issue. Today, they know that growth can indeed proceed in step with social rights and opportunities for all.

In 2003, classes A, B and C accounted for 46% of the population and their share was 67.8% in 2012? That this growth corresponds to 51.7 million more people in classes A, B and C (rich, upper middle and lower middle classes)?

"Brazil became industrialized and forged a remarkable and diversified industrial park, but did not win the hunger battle. This cannot continue. While there is a Brazilian brother or sister going hungry, we will have plenty to be ashamed of ... If at the end of my term of office all Brazilians have the possibility to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, I will have fulfilled my mission in life."

(Inaugural speech in the National Congress, January 1, 2003)

Development with social inclusion

"If I ruled well was because before I was a head of State, I was the head of a family, knowing the difficulties my siblings had to put food on the table, to school their children... If we governed well, it was mainly because we were able to get rid of the elitist curse that led the political leaders of this great country to rule for only a third of the population and to forget the majority, of the people who seemed doomed to eternal misery and abandonment. We proved it is possible and necessary to govern for all ... We built together a project of nation-based development with social inclusion."

"More than anything else, we reduced our social debt, our historical social debt, rescuing millions of Brazilians from the tragedy of poverty and helping millions to enter the middle class. But in a country as complex as ours, it is necessary to always want more, discover more, innovate the ways and always look for new solutions. Only then can we guarantee to those who improved in life they can achieve more and prove to those still struggling to get out of the poverty that they can, with the help of the government and the whole society, change their lives and level. We can be, in fact, one of the most developed and least unequal nations in the world. A country of a solid and entrepreneurial middle class. A vibrant and modern democracy. Full of social commitment, political freedom and creativity." (Inaugural speech in the House of Representatives, January 1, 2011)

"I only witnessed real social change 12 years ago, when finally, with great joy, I could see the poorest citizen making purchases in the supermarket, studying, attending college, working, buying a home, owning a car, etc. In summary, I saw previously socially impaired citizens gaining their dignity. Without Lula and Dilma, I think that would have been impossible. I pray to God that this government continues because the Brazilian people are actually the winners and we cannot sink back into misery and this modern form of slavery. I'm not a beneficiary of Bolsa Família, but I really like this important social program, which came to eliminate the hunger the poorest Brazilians suffered, this Brazilian citizen who had been, one way or another, hindered from studying, having dignity. My achievement was being to see this better Brazil!"

"When Lula took office, my family lived below the poverty line, we were miserable. Today, I study law through ProUni, I bought an apartment through the My House, My Life program and I’ve just passed the public exam to enter the Caixa Econômica Federal ... The greatest legacy of Lula and Dilma is to enable people to believe in themselves."

"The Brazilian elite believes that a poor person expects everything from the government, which is not true, I'm proof of that. I am proud to say that, yes, I needed the government to begin my studies, but today, I can pay for them and I'm glad for that."